diff --git a/app/helpers/application_helper.rb b/app/helpers/application_helper.rb
index e7d1e7864ec..de63356aa17 100644
--- a/app/helpers/application_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/application_helper.rb
@@ -52,15 +52,29 @@ module ApplicationHelper
     end
   end
 
+  def is_brotli_req?
+    ENV["COMPRESS_BROTLI"] == "1" &&
+    request.env["HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING"] =~ /br/
+  end
+
   def preload_script(script)
     path = asset_path("#{script}.js")
 
-    if  GlobalSetting.cdn_url &&
-        GlobalSetting.cdn_url.start_with?("https") &&
-        ENV["COMPRESS_BROTLI"] == "1" &&
-        request.env["HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING"] =~ /br/
+    if GlobalSetting.use_s3? && GlobalSetting.s3_cdn_url
+      if GlobalSetting.cdn_url
+        path.gsub!(GlobalSetting.cdn_url, GlobalSetting.s3_cdn_url)
+      else
+        path = "#{GlobalSetting.s3_cdn_url}#{path}"
+      end
+
+      if is_brotli_req?
+        path.gsub!(/\.([^.]+)$/, '.br.\1')
+      end
+
+    elsif GlobalSetting.cdn_url&.start_with?("https") && is_brotli_req?
       path.gsub!("#{GlobalSetting.cdn_url}/assets/", "#{GlobalSetting.cdn_url}/brotli_asset/")
     end
+
 "<link rel='preload' href='#{path}' as='script'/>
 <script src='#{path}'></script>".html_safe
   end
diff --git a/app/jobs/regular/pull_hotlinked_images.rb b/app/jobs/regular/pull_hotlinked_images.rb
index 0a1d5d6eba4..a1c0aa7b62c 100644
--- a/app/jobs/regular/pull_hotlinked_images.rb
+++ b/app/jobs/regular/pull_hotlinked_images.rb
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ module Jobs
 
       # we don't want to pull images hosted on the CDN (if we use one)
       return false if Discourse.asset_host.present? && URI.parse(Discourse.asset_host).hostname == hostname
-      return false if SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url.present? && URI.parse(SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url).hostname == hostname
+      return false if SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url.present? && URI.parse(SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url).hostname == hostname
       # we don't want to pull images hosted on the main domain
       return false if URI.parse(Discourse.base_url_no_prefix).hostname == hostname
       # check the domains blacklist
diff --git a/app/jobs/scheduled/clean_up_uploads.rb b/app/jobs/scheduled/clean_up_uploads.rb
index 6c607f98a46..08e29d202e0 100644
--- a/app/jobs/scheduled/clean_up_uploads.rb
+++ b/app/jobs/scheduled/clean_up_uploads.rb
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ module Jobs
 
       base_url = Discourse.store.internal? ? Discourse.store.relative_base_url : Discourse.store.absolute_base_url
       s3_hostname = URI.parse(base_url).hostname
-      s3_cdn_hostname = URI.parse(SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url || "").hostname
+      s3_cdn_hostname = URI.parse(SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url || "").hostname
 
       # Any URLs in site settings are fair game
       ignore_urls = [
diff --git a/app/models/backup.rb b/app/models/backup.rb
index 38dd0b2a83e..f8e6a6321fb 100644
--- a/app/models/backup.rb
+++ b/app/models/backup.rb
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ class Backup
 
   def s3
     require "s3_helper" unless defined? S3Helper
-    @s3_helper ||= S3Helper.new(s3_bucket)
+    @s3_helper ||= S3Helper.new(s3_bucket, '', S3Helper.s3_options(SiteSetting))
   end
 
   def upload_to_s3
diff --git a/app/models/global_setting.rb b/app/models/global_setting.rb
index e141e151e1f..b51018872e3 100644
--- a/app/models/global_setting.rb
+++ b/app/models/global_setting.rb
@@ -75,6 +75,21 @@ class GlobalSetting
     end
   end
 
+  def self.use_s3?
+    (@use_s3 ||=
+      begin
+        s3_bucket &&
+        s3_region && (
+          s3_use_iam_profile || (s3_access_key_id && s3_secret_access_key)
+        ) ? :true : :false
+      end) == :true
+  end
+
+  # for testing
+  def self.reset_s3_cache!
+    @use_s3 = nil
+  end
+
   def self.database_config
     hash = { "adapter" => "postgresql" }
     %w{pool timeout socket host port username password replica_host replica_port}.each do |s|
diff --git a/app/models/site_setting.rb b/app/models/site_setting.rb
index 4159a1cfb5b..3bd1b28d0e2 100644
--- a/app/models/site_setting.rb
+++ b/app/models/site_setting.rb
@@ -118,6 +118,43 @@ class SiteSetting < ActiveRecord::Base
   def self.attachment_filename_blacklist_regex
     @attachment_filename_blacklist_regex ||= Regexp.union(SiteSetting.attachment_filename_blacklist.split("|"))
   end
+
+  # helpers for getting s3 settings that fallback to global
+  class Upload
+    def self.s3_cdn_url
+      SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads ? SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url : GlobalSetting.s3_cdn_url
+    end
+
+    def self.s3_region
+      SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads ? SiteSetting.s3_region : GlobalSetting.s3_region
+    end
+
+    def self.s3_upload_bucket
+      SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads ? SiteSetting.s3_upload_bucket : GlobalSetting.s3_bucket
+    end
+
+    def self.enable_s3_uploads
+      SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads || GlobalSetting.use_s3?
+    end
+
+    def self.absolute_base_url
+      bucket = SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads ? Discourse.store.s3_bucket_name : GlobalSetting.s3_bucket
+
+      # cf. http://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/rande.html#s3_region
+      if SiteSetting.Upload.s3_region == "us-east-1"
+        "//#{bucket}.s3.amazonaws.com"
+      elsif SiteSetting.Upload.s3_region == 'cn-north-1'
+        "//#{bucket}.s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn"
+      else
+        "//#{bucket}.s3-#{SiteSetting.Upload.s3_region}.amazonaws.com"
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  def self.Upload
+    SiteSetting::Upload
+  end
+
 end
 
 # == Schema Information
diff --git a/app/models/topic_link_click.rb b/app/models/topic_link_click.rb
index 825067384fa..02b575df480 100644
--- a/app/models/topic_link_click.rb
+++ b/app/models/topic_link_click.rb
@@ -44,8 +44,8 @@ class TopicLinkClick < ActiveRecord::Base
         end
       end
 
-      if SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url.present?
-        cdn_uri = URI.parse(SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url) rescue nil
+      if SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url.present?
+        cdn_uri = URI.parse(SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url) rescue nil
         if cdn_uri && cdn_uri.hostname == uri.hostname && uri.path.starts_with?(cdn_uri.path)
           is_cdn_link = true
           path = uri.path[cdn_uri.path.length..-1]
diff --git a/app/models/upload.rb b/app/models/upload.rb
index 329e59714af..579f79f8b7e 100644
--- a/app/models/upload.rb
+++ b/app/models/upload.rb
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ class Upload < ActiveRecord::Base
     # we store relative urls, so we need to remove any host/cdn
     url = url.sub(Discourse.asset_host, "") if Discourse.asset_host.present?
     # when using s3, we need to replace with the absolute base url
-    url = url.sub(SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url, Discourse.store.absolute_base_url) if SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url.present?
+    url = url.sub(SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url, Discourse.store.absolute_base_url) if SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url.present?
 
     # always try to get the path
     uri = URI(url) rescue nil
diff --git a/app/views/common/_discourse_javascript.html.erb b/app/views/common/_discourse_javascript.html.erb
index 72b3da60683..3ee86fa4d41 100644
--- a/app/views/common/_discourse_javascript.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/common/_discourse_javascript.html.erb
@@ -52,11 +52,11 @@
     Discourse.Session.currentProp("safe_mode", <%= normalized_safe_mode.inspect.html_safe %>);
     <%- end %>
     Discourse.HighlightJSPath = <%= HighlightJs.path.inspect.html_safe %>;
-    <%- if SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads %>
-      <%- if SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url.present? %>
-    Discourse.S3CDN = '<%= SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url %>';
+    <%- if SiteSetting.Upload.enable_s3_uploads %>
+      <%- if SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url.present? %>
+    Discourse.S3CDN = '<%= SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url %>';
       <%- end %>
-    Discourse.S3BaseUrl = '<%= Discourse.store.absolute_base_url %>';
+    Discourse.S3BaseUrl = '<%= SiteSetting.Upload.absolute_base_url %>';
     <%- end %>
   })();
 </script>
diff --git a/config/discourse_defaults.conf b/config/discourse_defaults.conf
index 3d8e096ab9f..2f47f7ea21d 100644
--- a/config/discourse_defaults.conf
+++ b/config/discourse_defaults.conf
@@ -156,3 +156,12 @@ secret_key_base =
 # in multi host setups this allows you to have old unicorn instances serve
 # newly compiled assets
 fallback_assets_path =
+
+# S3 settings used for serving ALL public files
+# be sure to configre a CDN as well per cdn_url
+s3_bucket =
+s3_region =
+s3_access_key_id =
+s3_secret_access_key =
+s3_use_iam_profile = false
+s3_cdn_url =
diff --git a/lib/autospec/rspec_runner.rb b/lib/autospec/rspec_runner.rb
index 3fb9c093770..f086ef77c9a 100644
--- a/lib/autospec/rspec_runner.rb
+++ b/lib/autospec/rspec_runner.rb
@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ module Autospec
     def self.reload(pattern); RELOADERS << pattern; end
     def reloaders; RELOADERS; end
 
-    # We need to reload the whole app when changing any of these files
-    reload("spec/rails_helper.rb")
-    reload(%r{config/.+\.rb})
-    reload(%r{app/helpers/.+\.rb})
+    # we are using a simple runner at the moment, whole idea of using a reloader is no longer needed
+    watch("spec/rails_helper.rb")
+    watch(%r{config/.+\.rb})
+    #reload(%r{app/helpers/.+\.rb})
 
     def failed_specs
       specs = []
diff --git a/lib/cooked_post_processor.rb b/lib/cooked_post_processor.rb
index 490a8a33574..c1c51717b6b 100644
--- a/lib/cooked_post_processor.rb
+++ b/lib/cooked_post_processor.rb
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ class CookedPostProcessor
       end
     end
 
-    use_s3_cdn = SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads && SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url.present?
+    use_s3_cdn = SiteSetting.Upload.enable_s3_uploads && SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url.present?
 
     %w{href data-download-href}.each do |selector|
       @doc.css("a[#{selector}]").each do |a|
diff --git a/lib/discourse.rb b/lib/discourse.rb
index f09037cb435..24ff23eb05a 100644
--- a/lib/discourse.rb
+++ b/lib/discourse.rb
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ module Discourse
   end
 
   def self.store
-    if SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads?
+    if SiteSetting.Upload.enable_s3_uploads
       @s3_store_loaded ||= require 'file_store/s3_store'
       FileStore::S3Store.new
     else
diff --git a/lib/file_store/s3_store.rb b/lib/file_store/s3_store.rb
index 98f1c13f087..838e8ffbc6d 100644
--- a/lib/file_store/s3_store.rb
+++ b/lib/file_store/s3_store.rb
@@ -56,22 +56,17 @@ module FileStore
       base_hostname = URI.parse(absolute_base_url).hostname
       return true if url[base_hostname]
 
-      return false if SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url.blank?
-      cdn_hostname = URI.parse(SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url || "").hostname
+      return false if SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url.blank?
+      cdn_hostname = URI.parse(SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url || "").hostname
       cdn_hostname.presence && url[cdn_hostname]
     end
 
-    def absolute_base_url
-      bucket = @s3_helper.s3_bucket_name
+    def s3_bucket_name
+      @s3_helper.s3_bucket_name
+    end
 
-      # cf. http://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/rande.html#s3_region
-      @absolute_base_url ||= if SiteSetting.s3_region == "us-east-1"
-        "//#{bucket}.s3.amazonaws.com"
-      elsif SiteSetting.s3_region == 'cn-north-1'
-        "//#{bucket}.s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn"
-      else
-        "//#{bucket}.s3-#{SiteSetting.s3_region}.amazonaws.com"
-      end
+    def absolute_base_url
+      @absolute_base_url ||= SiteSetting.Upload.absolute_base_url
     end
 
     def external?
@@ -88,9 +83,9 @@ module FileStore
     end
 
     def cdn_url(url)
-      return url if SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url.blank?
+      return url if SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url.blank?
       schema = url[/^(https?:)?\/\//, 1]
-      url.sub("#{schema}#{absolute_base_url}", SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url)
+      url.sub("#{schema}#{absolute_base_url}", SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url)
     end
 
     def cache_avatar(avatar, user_id)
@@ -104,8 +99,8 @@ module FileStore
     end
 
     def s3_bucket
-      raise Discourse::SiteSettingMissing.new("s3_upload_bucket") if SiteSetting.s3_upload_bucket.blank?
-      SiteSetting.s3_upload_bucket.downcase
+      raise Discourse::SiteSettingMissing.new("s3_upload_bucket") if SiteSetting.Upload.s3_upload_bucket.blank?
+      SiteSetting.Upload.s3_upload_bucket.downcase
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/final_destination.rb b/lib/final_destination.rb
index e4223e7a558..a8175135d39 100644
--- a/lib/final_destination.rb
+++ b/lib/final_destination.rb
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ class FinalDestination
     return false unless @uri && @uri.host
 
     # Whitelisted hosts
-    return true if hostname_matches?(SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url) ||
+    return true if hostname_matches?(SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url) ||
       hostname_matches?(GlobalSetting.try(:cdn_url)) ||
       hostname_matches?(Discourse.base_url_no_prefix)
 
diff --git a/lib/global_path.rb b/lib/global_path.rb
index ce6018e1d4b..fc9557210a8 100644
--- a/lib/global_path.rb
+++ b/lib/global_path.rb
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ module GlobalPath
   end
 
   def upload_cdn_path(p)
-    if SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url.present?
-      p = p.sub(Discourse.store.absolute_base_url, SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url)
+    if SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url.present?
+      p = p.sub(Discourse.store.absolute_base_url, SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url)
     end
     p =~ /^http/ ? p : cdn_path(p)
   end
diff --git a/lib/pretty_text.rb b/lib/pretty_text.rb
index 1772f3287de..5af8c928a52 100644
--- a/lib/pretty_text.rb
+++ b/lib/pretty_text.rb
@@ -141,9 +141,9 @@ module PrettyText
         CDN: Rails.configuration.action_controller.asset_host,
       }
 
-      if SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads?
-        if SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url.present?
-          paths[:S3CDN] = SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url
+      if SiteSetting.Upload.enable_s3_uploads
+        if SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url.present?
+          paths[:S3CDN] = SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url
         end
         paths[:S3BaseUrl] = Discourse.store.absolute_base_url
       end
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ module PrettyText
       add_rel_nofollow_to_user_content(doc)
     end
 
-    if SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads && SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url.present?
+    if SiteSetting.Upload.enable_s3_uploads && SiteSetting.Upload.s3_cdn_url.present?
       add_s3_cdn(doc)
     end
 
diff --git a/lib/s3_helper.rb b/lib/s3_helper.rb
index 27348d631e8..5903c650624 100644
--- a/lib/s3_helper.rb
+++ b/lib/s3_helper.rb
@@ -6,12 +6,12 @@ class S3Helper
 
   attr_reader :s3_bucket_name
 
-  def initialize(s3_upload_bucket, tombstone_prefix = '', options = {})
+  def initialize(s3_bucket_name, tombstone_prefix = '', options = {})
     @s3_options = default_s3_options.merge(options)
 
     @s3_bucket_name, @s3_bucket_folder_path = begin
-      raise Discourse::InvalidParameters.new("s3_bucket") if s3_upload_bucket.blank?
-      s3_upload_bucket.downcase.split("/".freeze, 2)
+      raise Discourse::InvalidParameters.new("s3_bucket_name") if s3_bucket_name.blank?
+      s3_bucket_name.downcase.split("/".freeze, 2)
     end
 
     @tombstone_prefix =
@@ -20,8 +20,6 @@ class S3Helper
       else
         tombstone_prefix
       end
-
-    check_missing_options
   end
 
   def upload(file, path, options = {})
@@ -80,8 +78,8 @@ class S3Helper
     update_lifecycle("purge_tombstone", grace_period, prefix: @tombstone_prefix)
   end
 
-  def list
-    s3_bucket.objects(prefix: @s3_bucket_folder_path)
+  def list(prefix = "")
+    s3_bucket.objects(prefix: @s3_bucket_folder_path.to_s + prefix)
   end
 
   def tag_file(key, tags)
@@ -99,24 +97,36 @@ class S3Helper
     )
   end
 
+  def self.s3_options(obj)
+    opts = { region: obj.s3_region }
+
+    unless obj.s3_use_iam_profile
+      opts[:access_key_id] = obj.s3_access_key_id
+      opts[:secret_access_key] = obj.s3_secret_access_key
+    end
+
+    opts
+  end
+
   private
 
+  def default_s3_options
+    if SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads?
+      options = self.class.s3_options(SiteSetting)
+      check_missing_site_options
+      options
+    elsif GlobalSetting.use_s3?
+      self.class.s3_options(GlobalSetting)
+    else
+      {}
+    end
+  end
+
   def get_path_for_s3_upload(path)
     path = File.join(@s3_bucket_folder_path, path) if @s3_bucket_folder_path
     path
   end
 
-  def default_s3_options
-    opts = { region: SiteSetting.s3_region }
-
-    unless SiteSetting.s3_use_iam_profile
-      opts[:access_key_id] = SiteSetting.s3_access_key_id
-      opts[:secret_access_key] = SiteSetting.s3_secret_access_key
-    end
-
-    opts
-  end
-
   def s3_resource
     Aws::S3::Resource.new(@s3_options)
   end
@@ -127,10 +137,10 @@ class S3Helper
     bucket
   end
 
-  def check_missing_options
+  def check_missing_site_options
     unless SiteSetting.s3_use_iam_profile
-      raise SettingMissing.new("access_key_id") if @s3_options[:access_key_id].blank?
-      raise SettingMissing.new("secret_access_key") if @s3_options[:secret_access_key].blank?
+      raise SettingMissing.new("access_key_id") if SiteSetting.s3_access_key_id.blank?
+      raise SettingMissing.new("secret_access_key") if SiteSetting.s3_secret_access_key.blank?
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/tasks/s3.rake b/lib/tasks/s3.rake
index a26c89ec743..bc35e78b40b 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/s3.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/s3.rake
@@ -11,15 +11,12 @@ def gzip_s3_path(path)
 end
 
 def should_skip?(path)
-  return true if ENV['FORCE_S3_UPLOADS']
-  @existing_assets ||= Set.new(helper.list.map(&:key))
-  @existing_assets.include?('assets/' + path)
+  return false if ENV['FORCE_S3_UPLOADS']
+  @existing_assets ||= Set.new(helper.list("assets/").map(&:key))
+  @existing_assets.include?(path)
 end
 
-def upload_asset(helper, path, recurse: true, content_type: nil, fullpath: nil, content_encoding: nil)
-  fullpath ||= (Rails.root + "public/assets/#{path}").to_s
-
-  content_type ||= MiniMime.lookup_by_filename(path).content_type
+def upload(path, remote_path, content_type, content_encoding = nil)
 
   options = {
     cache_control: 'max-age=31556952, public, immutable',
@@ -32,50 +29,46 @@ def upload_asset(helper, path, recurse: true, content_type: nil, fullpath: nil,
     options[:content_encoding] = content_encoding
   end
 
-  if should_skip?(path)
-    puts "Skipping: #{path}"
+  if should_skip?(remote_path)
+    puts "Skipping: #{remote_path}"
   else
-    puts "Uploading: #{path}"
-    helper.upload(fullpath, path, options)
+    puts "Uploading: #{remote_path}"
+    helper.upload(path, remote_path, options)
   end
+end
 
-  if recurse
-    if File.exist?(fullpath + ".br")
-      brotli_path = brotli_s3_path(path)
-      upload_asset(helper, brotli_path,
-        fullpath: fullpath + ".br",
-        recurse: false,
-        content_type: content_type,
-        content_encoding: 'br'
-      )
-    end
-
-    if File.exist?(fullpath + ".gz")
-      gzip_path = gzip_s3_path(path)
-      upload_asset(helper, gzip_path,
-        fullpath: fullpath + ".gz",
-        recurse: false,
-        content_type: content_type,
-        content_encoding: 'gzip'
-      )
-    end
-
-    if File.exist?(fullpath + ".map")
-      upload_asset(helper, path + ".map", recurse: false, content_type: 'application/json')
-    end
-  end
+def helper
+  @helper ||= S3Helper.new(GlobalSetting.s3_bucket.downcase, '', S3Helper.s3_options(GlobalSetting))
 end
 
 def assets
   cached = Rails.application.assets&.cached
   manifest = Sprockets::Manifest.new(cached, Rails.root + 'public/assets', Rails.application.config.assets.manifest)
 
-  raise Discourse::SiteSettingMissing.new("s3_upload_bucket") if SiteSetting.s3_upload_bucket.blank?
-  manifest.assets
-end
+  results = []
 
-def helper
-  @helper ||= S3Helper.new(SiteSetting.s3_upload_bucket.downcase + '/assets')
+  manifest.assets.each do |_, path|
+    fullpath = (Rails.root + "public/assets/#{path}").to_s
+
+    content_type = MiniMime.lookup_by_filename(fullpath).content_type
+
+    asset_path = "assets/#{path}"
+    results << [fullpath, asset_path, content_type]
+
+    if File.exist?(fullpath + '.br')
+      results << [fullpath + '.br', brotli_s3_path(asset_path), content_type, 'br']
+    end
+
+    if File.exist?(fullpath + '.gz')
+      results << [fullpath + '.gz', gzip_s3_path(asset_path), content_type, 'gzip']
+    end
+
+    if File.exist?(fullpath + '.map')
+      results << [fullpath + '.map', asset_path + '.map', 'application/json']
+    end
+  end
+
+  results
 end
 
 def in_manifest
@@ -102,13 +95,23 @@ def in_manifest
   Set.new(found)
 end
 
+def ensure_s3_configured!
+  unless GlobalSetting.use_s3?
+    STDERR.puts "ERROR: Ensure S3 is configured in config/discourse.conf of environment vars"
+    exit 1
+  end
+end
+
 task 's3:upload_assets' => :environment do
-  assets.each do |name, fingerprint|
-    upload_asset(helper, fingerprint)
+  ensure_s3_configured!
+
+  assets.each do |asset|
+    upload(*asset)
   end
 end
 
 task 's3:expire_missing_assets' => :environment do
+  ensure_s3_configured!
   keep = in_manifest
 
   count = 0
diff --git a/lib/tasks/uploads.rake b/lib/tasks/uploads.rake
index 9da415dba0b..9ecf00c3d9a 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/uploads.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/uploads.rake
@@ -114,13 +114,13 @@ def migrate_from_s3
   require "file_store/s3_store"
 
   # make sure S3 is disabled
-  if SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads
+  if SiteSetting.Uploads.enable_s3_uploads
     puts "You must disable S3 uploads before running that task."
     return
   end
 
   # make sure S3 bucket is set
-  if SiteSetting.s3_upload_bucket.blank?
+  if SiteSetting.Upload.s3_upload_bucket.blank?
     puts "The S3 upload bucket must be set before running that task."
     return
   end
@@ -188,14 +188,14 @@ end
 
 def migrate_to_s3
   # make sure s3 is enabled
-  if !SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads
+  if !SiteSetting.Upload.enable_s3_uploads
     puts "You must enable s3 uploads before running that task"
     return
   end
 
   db = RailsMultisite::ConnectionManagement.current_db
 
-  puts "Migrating uploads to S3 (#{SiteSetting.s3_upload_bucket}) for '#{db}'..."
+  puts "Migrating uploads to S3 (#{SiteSetting.Upload.s3_upload_bucket}) for '#{db}'..."
 
   # will throw an exception if the bucket is missing
   s3 = FileStore::S3Store.new
diff --git a/spec/components/file_store/s3_store_spec.rb b/spec/components/file_store/s3_store_spec.rb
index 0051fdda6e7..00df4f36f91 100644
--- a/spec/components/file_store/s3_store_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/components/file_store/s3_store_spec.rb
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ describe FileStore::S3Store do
     SiteSetting.s3_upload_bucket = "s3-upload-bucket"
     SiteSetting.s3_access_key_id = "s3-access-key-id"
     SiteSetting.s3_secret_access_key = "s3-secret-access-key"
+    SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads = true
   end
 
   shared_context 's3 helpers' do
diff --git a/spec/components/final_destination_spec.rb b/spec/components/final_destination_spec.rb
index d9fcba70a73..5248299e72b 100644
--- a/spec/components/final_destination_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/components/final_destination_spec.rb
@@ -292,6 +292,7 @@ describe FinalDestination do
     end
 
     it "returns true for the S3 CDN url" do
+      SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads = true
       SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url = "https://s3.example.com"
       expect(fd("https://s3.example.com/some/thing").is_dest_valid?).to eq(true)
     end
diff --git a/spec/components/pretty_text_spec.rb b/spec/components/pretty_text_spec.rb
index ec62b0aee21..d9aa5639718 100644
--- a/spec/components/pretty_text_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/components/pretty_text_spec.rb
@@ -623,29 +623,56 @@ describe PrettyText do
     expect(PrettyText.cook(raw)).to eq(html.strip)
   end
 
-  it 'can substitute s3 cdn correctly' do
-    SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads = true
-    SiteSetting.s3_access_key_id = "XXX"
-    SiteSetting.s3_secret_access_key = "XXX"
-    SiteSetting.s3_upload_bucket = "test"
-    SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url = "https://awesome.cdn"
+  describe 's3_cdn' do
 
-    # add extra img tag to ensure it does not blow up
-    raw = <<~HTML
-      <img>
-      <img src='https:#{Discourse.store.absolute_base_url}/original/9/9/99c9384b8b6d87f8509f8395571bc7512ca3cad1.jpg'>
-      <img src='http:#{Discourse.store.absolute_base_url}/original/9/9/99c9384b8b6d87f8509f8395571bc7512ca3cad1.jpg'>
-      <img src='#{Discourse.store.absolute_base_url}/original/9/9/99c9384b8b6d87f8509f8395571bc7512ca3cad1.jpg'>
-    HTML
+    def test_s3_cdn
+      # add extra img tag to ensure it does not blow up
+      raw = <<~HTML
+        <img>
+        <img src='https:#{Discourse.store.absolute_base_url}/original/9/9/99c9384b8b6d87f8509f8395571bc7512ca3cad1.jpg'>
+        <img src='http:#{Discourse.store.absolute_base_url}/original/9/9/99c9384b8b6d87f8509f8395571bc7512ca3cad1.jpg'>
+        <img src='#{Discourse.store.absolute_base_url}/original/9/9/99c9384b8b6d87f8509f8395571bc7512ca3cad1.jpg'>
+      HTML
 
-    html = <<~HTML
-      <p><img><br>
-      <img src="https://awesome.cdn/original/9/9/99c9384b8b6d87f8509f8395571bc7512ca3cad1.jpg"><br>
-      <img src="https://awesome.cdn/original/9/9/99c9384b8b6d87f8509f8395571bc7512ca3cad1.jpg"><br>
-      <img src="https://awesome.cdn/original/9/9/99c9384b8b6d87f8509f8395571bc7512ca3cad1.jpg"></p>
-    HTML
+      html = <<~HTML
+        <p><img><br>
+        <img src="https://awesome.cdn/original/9/9/99c9384b8b6d87f8509f8395571bc7512ca3cad1.jpg"><br>
+        <img src="https://awesome.cdn/original/9/9/99c9384b8b6d87f8509f8395571bc7512ca3cad1.jpg"><br>
+        <img src="https://awesome.cdn/original/9/9/99c9384b8b6d87f8509f8395571bc7512ca3cad1.jpg"></p>
+      HTML
 
-    expect(PrettyText.cook(raw)).to eq(html.strip)
+      expect(PrettyText.cook(raw)).to eq(html.strip)
+    end
+
+    before do
+      GlobalSetting.reset_s3_cache!
+    end
+
+    after do
+      GlobalSetting.reset_s3_cache!
+    end
+
+    it 'can substitute s3 cdn when added via global setting' do
+
+      global_setting :s3_access_key_id, 'XXX'
+      global_setting :s3_secret_access_key, 'XXX'
+      global_setting :s3_bucket, 'XXX'
+      global_setting :s3_region, 'XXX'
+      global_setting :s3_cdn_url, 'https://awesome.cdn'
+
+      test_s3_cdn
+    end
+
+    it 'can substitute s3 cdn correctly' do
+      SiteSetting.s3_access_key_id = "XXX"
+      SiteSetting.s3_secret_access_key = "XXX"
+      SiteSetting.s3_upload_bucket = "test"
+      SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url = "https://awesome.cdn"
+
+      SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads = true
+
+      test_s3_cdn
+    end
   end
 
   describe "emoji" do
diff --git a/spec/components/stylesheet/importer_spec.rb b/spec/components/stylesheet/importer_spec.rb
index 8aafb5c9278..199fdb1df62 100644
--- a/spec/components/stylesheet/importer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/components/stylesheet/importer_spec.rb
@@ -20,8 +20,13 @@ describe Stylesheet::Importer do
   end
 
   it "applies S3 CDN to background category images" do
+    SiteSetting.s3_use_iam_profile = true
+    SiteSetting.s3_upload_bucket = 'test'
+    SiteSetting.s3_region = 'ap-southeast-2'
     SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url = "https://s3.cdn"
 
+    SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads = true
+
     background = Fabricate(:upload_s3)
     category = Fabricate(:category, uploaded_background: background)
 
diff --git a/spec/helpers/application_helper_spec.rb b/spec/helpers/application_helper_spec.rb
index 9b74645bf91..69a50d2ca52 100644
--- a/spec/helpers/application_helper_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/helpers/application_helper_spec.rb
@@ -2,6 +2,50 @@ require 'rails_helper'
 
 describe ApplicationHelper do
 
+  describe "preload_script" do
+    it "provides brotli links to brotli cdn" do
+      set_cdn_url "https://awesome.com"
+      set_env "COMPRESS_BROTLI", "1"
+
+      helper.request.env["HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING"] = 'br'
+      link = helper.preload_script('application')
+
+      expect(link).to eq("<link rel='preload' href='https://awesome.com/brotli_asset/application.js' as='script'/>\n<script src='https://awesome.com/brotli_asset/application.js'></script>")
+    end
+
+    context "with s3 CDN" do
+      before do
+        global_setting :s3_bucket, 'test_bucket'
+        global_setting :s3_region, 'ap-australia'
+        global_setting :s3_access_key_id, '123'
+        global_setting :s3_secret_access_key, '123'
+        global_setting :s3_cdn_url, 'https://s3cdn.com'
+        set_env "COMPRESS_BROTLI", "1"
+      end
+
+      it "returns magic brotli mangling for brotli requests" do
+
+        helper.request.env["HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING"] = 'br'
+        link = helper.preload_script('application')
+
+        expect(link).to eq("<link rel='preload' href='https://s3cdn.com/assets/application.br.js' as='script'/>\n<script src='https://s3cdn.com/assets/application.br.js'></script>")
+      end
+
+      it "gives s3 cdn if asset host is not set" do
+        link = helper.preload_script('application')
+
+        expect(link).to eq("<link rel='preload' href='https://s3cdn.com/assets/application.js' as='script'/>\n<script src='https://s3cdn.com/assets/application.js'></script>")
+      end
+
+      it "gives s3 cdn even if asset host is set" do
+        set_cdn_url "https://awesome.com"
+        link = helper.preload_script('application')
+
+        expect(link).to eq("<link rel='preload' href='https://s3cdn.com/assets/application.js' as='script'/>\n<script src='https://s3cdn.com/assets/application.js'></script>")
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
   describe "escape_unicode" do
     it "encodes tags" do
       expect(helper.escape_unicode("<tag>")).to eq("\u003ctag>")
diff --git a/spec/models/global_setting_spec.rb b/spec/models/global_setting_spec.rb
index b7f2f29eb9f..c02b383a947 100644
--- a/spec/models/global_setting_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/global_setting_spec.rb
@@ -9,6 +9,21 @@ end
 
 describe GlobalSetting do
 
+  describe '.use_s3_assets?' do
+    it 'returns false by default' do
+      expect(GlobalSetting.use_s3?).to eq(false)
+    end
+
+    it 'returns true once set' do
+      global_setting :s3_bucket, 'test_bucket'
+      global_setting :s3_region, 'ap-australia'
+      global_setting :s3_access_key_id, '123'
+      global_setting :s3_secret_access_key, '123'
+
+      expect(GlobalSetting.use_s3?).to eq(true)
+    end
+  end
+
   describe '.safe_secret_key_base' do
     it 'sets redis token if it is somehow flushed after 30 seconds' do
 
diff --git a/spec/models/topic_link_click_spec.rb b/spec/models/topic_link_click_spec.rb
index 5963ba4eec0..3499c63c106 100644
--- a/spec/models/topic_link_click_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/topic_link_click_spec.rb
@@ -145,6 +145,9 @@ describe TopicLinkClick do
 
           it "works with s3 urls" do
             SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url = "https://discourse-s3-cdn.global.ssl.fastly.net"
+            SiteSetting.s3_access_key_id = 'X'
+            SiteSetting.s3_secret_access_key = 'X'
+            SiteSetting.enable_s3_uploads = true
 
             post = Fabricate(:post, topic: @topic, raw: "[test](//test.localhost/uploads/default/my-test-link)")
             TopicLink.extract_from(post)
diff --git a/spec/rails_helper.rb b/spec/rails_helper.rb
index 665ec0088e1..f29d3903dea 100644
--- a/spec/rails_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/rails_helper.rb
@@ -124,6 +124,11 @@ RSpec.configure do |config|
     Sidekiq::Worker.clear_all
 
     I18n.locale = :en
+
+    if $test_cleanup_callbacks
+      $test_cleanup_callbacks.reverse_each(&:call)
+      $test_cleanup_callbacks = nil
+    end
   end
 
   class TestCurrentUserProvider < Auth::DefaultCurrentUserProvider
@@ -146,6 +151,45 @@ class TrackTimeStub
   end
 end
 
+def before_next_spec(&callback)
+  ($test_cleanup_callbacks ||= []) << callback
+end
+
+def global_setting(name, value)
+  GlobalSetting.reset_s3_cache!
+
+  GlobalSetting.stubs(name).returns(value)
+
+  before_next_spec do
+    GlobalSetting.reset_s3_cache!
+  end
+end
+
+def set_env(var, value)
+  old = ENV.fetch var, :missing
+
+  ENV[var] = value
+
+  before_next_spec do
+    if old == :missing
+      ENV.delete var
+    else
+      ENV[var] = old
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+def set_cdn_url(cdn_url)
+  global_setting :cdn_url, cdn_url
+  Rails.configuration.action_controller.asset_host = cdn_url
+  ActionController::Base.asset_host = cdn_url
+
+  before_next_spec do
+    Rails.configuration.action_controller.asset_host = nil
+    ActionController::Base.asset_host = nil
+  end
+end
+
 def freeze_time(now = Time.now)
   datetime = DateTime.parse(now.to_s)
   time = Time.parse(now.to_s)